Reef revisited

A giant artificial reef in the shape of a Rotary wheel restores marine life and protects the livelihood of several fishing villages in the Philippines

By Quincy Cahilig

Rotary members partnered with local fishermen to build an artificial reef that helped save the fishing industry in Atimonan, Quezon Province, Philippines.

Photos by Freedom Dellosa and Dewey C. Sergio

Rotary members partnered with local fishermen to build an artificial reef that helped save the fishing industry in Atimonan, Quezon Province, Philippines.

Photos by Freedom Dellosa and Dewey C. Sergio

Rotary members partnered with local fishermen to build an artificial reef that helped save the fishing industry in Atimonan, Quezon Province, Philippines.

Photos by Freedom Dellosa and Dewey C. Sergio

Rotary members partnered with local fishermen to build an artificial reef that helped save the fishing industry in Atimonan, Quezon Province, Philippines.

Photos by Freedom Dellosa and Dewey C. Sergio

In the calm blue waters of Lamon Bay lies a source of pride for local fishermen and a submerged salute to Rotary: an artificial reef in the shape of a Rotary wheel.

The wheel has helped restore the local fishing industry, which was devastated by large-scale commercial fishing vessels that used dynamite, cyanide, and fine mesh nets from the late 1990s through the early 2000s.

Fishing is considered the lifeblood of the area’s coastal villages, including Balubad, Lubi, Talaba, and Kilait, and for years, village fishermen fought to protect the waters that fed their families.

In 2005, the fishermen turned to the Rotary Club of Atimonan, Quezon Province, Philippines, for help. They decided to build an artificial reef.

The club partnered with the Rotary Club of Madera, California, USA, on a Rotary Foundation grant to help fund the project, which would cost more than $1 million.

They built the reef in the shape of a Rotary wheel, which just happens to have plenty of surface area for coral to grow on and plenty of nooks for fish to shelter in. Made of steel-reinforced concrete, it’s 600 meters from the coastline, measures about 4 meters tall and 21 meters wide (13 by 70 feet), and weighs several tons.

Today, the wheel, touted as the biggest artificial reef in the Philippines, is covered with coral and has withstood several typhoons. It attracts fish, including jacks, surgeonfish, mangrove red snappers, groupers, longfin bannerfish, flounders, pompanos, batfish, and barracudas, among other marine creatures.

“Before the reef, the fishermen were barely able to catch a kilo [2.2 pounds] of fish apiece,” says Oca Chua, past president of the Rotary Club of Atimonan and the project’s chair. “Today they catch fish weighing up to 2 kilos apiece a day.”

Protecting the fish has been just one benefit of the effort. The reef also became a tourist attraction that boosted the local economy. Fishermen build bamboo rafts and rent them to tourists who visit the reef to eat, rest, dive, and even feed the fishes.